DISCLAIMER: Mobile Rush is not affiliated with Sporting Kansas City Soccer (Football). But a 3rd party company that's dedicated to connecting Sporting Kansas City Soccer (Football) fans with their team as best as possible. With wallpaper, live wallpapers, background and theme. 55555

The history of Sporting Kansas City Soccer (Football) from Wikipedia.

Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas. The club is a member of the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer. The club is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception.Other nicknames are the Wizards, The Wiz and the Swope Park Rangers.

For the majority of its first 15 years of existence the team was known as the Kansas City Wizards. The team was renamed in November 2010, coinciding with its move to a new stadium, Sporting Park. The club won both the MLS Cup and the MLS Supporters' Shield in 2000, and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2004 and 2012.

The Kansas City MLS franchise was founded by Lamar Hunt, who was also the founder or co-founder of the American Football League, the Kansas City Chiefs, the United Soccer Association, and Major League Soccer. The Kansas City Wiz played their first game on April 13, 1996, defeating the Colorado Rapids at Arrowhead Stadium. The Wiz players included Preki, Mo Johnston and Digital Takawira, and were coached by Ron Newman. The team finished 5th in the 1996 regular season with a 17–15 record, qualifying for the first ever MLS Playoffs. In the 1996 conference semi-finals, the Wiz beat the Dallas Burn in three games, winning the final game in a shootout, before losing the conference final to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Following the 1996 season, the Wiz changed names, becoming the "Wizards". For the 1997 MLS season, their record was 21–11; they won the Western Conference regular season championship. Preki was named 1997 MLS MVP. In the first round of the playoffs, the Wizards lost to the last-seeded Colorado Rapids.

The Wizards had losing records for the 1998 and 1999 seasons, finishing last in the Western Conference both years. The Wizards fired Ron Newman early during the 1999 season, and replaced him with Bob Gansler. The Wizards finished the 1999 season with a record of 8–24, which put them in last place in the Western Conference once again.

In 2000, their first full season under Bob Gansler, the Wizards opened the season on a 12-game unbeaten streak. Goalkeeper Tony Meola recorded an MLS record shutout streak at 681 minutes and 16 shutouts, and won MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and MLS MVP.[6] Peter Vermes was named 2000 MLS Defender of the Year. The Wizards finished the 2000 regular season 16–7–9, the best record in the league.

In the 2000 playoffs, the Wizards defeated the Colorado Rapids, 7 points to 1 in three games. In the conference final, the Wizards fell behind 4 points to 1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy, but Miklos Molnar scored a penalty kick in game three to send the series into a tiebreaker, where he scored again to send the Wizards to their first MLS Cup. At RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., the Wizards, with the league's best defense, faced the team with the league's best offense, the Chicago Fire.